Meiji Yasuda America Inc Purchases New Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Meiji Yasuda America Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 23,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,166,000. Waste Management comprises about 1.2% of Meiji Yasuda America Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:WM opened at $218.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $87.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $223.01 and its 200-day moving average is $224.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.30.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.